Augusto Cury: "I'm not on the fence. I'm tearing down the wall"

Brazilians have plenty of appetite for an alternative to Lulism and Bolsonarism. Nearly a third of voters say they want a third way. What they lack, as we have argued before, is anyone they feel is worth ordering.

Third-way hopefuls in recent cycles have stumbled in one of two ways. Some lack the grassroots networks that built the social bases of Lulism and Bolsonarism. Others are unknowns who assume they can waltz into the presidential race and collect voters hungry for something new.

Augusto Cury, a psychiatrist and bestselling self-help author, briefly looked like he could break the trend. In late August, the political newcomer jumped from the low single digits to 11% in some polls, the first time a third-way candidate had reached double digits. He fell back just as quickly.

Cury blames an algorithm. He has filed a complaint with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), accusing unnamed actors of throttling his reach on social media. Ahead of the October 4 first round, he spoke to The Brazilian Report about his case against Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, his plan to move Brazil to a semi-presidential system, and his pledge to serve a single term.

What qualifies me is that I have no history of corruption, and I'm not a career politician.

I'm not only the most published psychiatrist in the world and the most-read Brazilian author of this century, with more than 40 million copies sold. I'm also an investor in several companies. In biotechnology, for instance, to build an Agriculture 4.0 with far fewer pesticides. For 20 years, we have invested in reforestation, with more than 500 hectares of African mahogany and 400 hectares of rubber trees, all of it economically viable and environmentally sustainable. A presidential candidate who has invested in reforestation is rare anywhere in the world. I also invest in citrus farming and renewable energy.

I created the world's first and largest social-emotional education program, which was sold to a Nasdaq-listed company about four years ago. So I have management experience with companies that made a real impact. Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro have never planted a vegetable garden, and they have practically never put their own money at risk in a business. Except Flávio, of course, with a small chocolate shop. Very small. Strangely small, but with very high profits. And they want to decide the future of commerce and agriculture without any management experience.

What also qualifies me is that I don't want a political career. I'm putting my name forward this year, and if I have the privilege of being chosen by the Brazilian people, I'll serve four years, because I'm a critic of re-election.

Re-election is a cancer. It flirts with self-perpetuation in power, with corruption, and with personalism. Look at Peronism in Argentina, Chavismo in Venezuela, Varguismo in Brazil, and now Lulismo and Bolsonarismo. Every "ism" makes its followers suspend their critical thinking. They stop criticizing their leader and deify him, which keeps him from evolving and rethinking his behavior. Forgive me for dramatizing, but this personalism has infected Latin America as a whole.